CoastObs

The mission of the CoastObs project was to develop a user-relevant service platform for coastal water monitoring with validated products derived from Earth Observation (EO). To fulfil this mission, we were in dialogue with users from various sectors in order to create tailored products at highly reduced costs per user that stick to their requirements. The innovative EO-based products include: monitoring of seagrass and macroalgae, phytoplankton size classes, primary production, and harmful algae as well as higher level products such as indicators and integration with predictive models.

To demonstrate the multi-user approach of CoastObs and its operational services, the project carried out four case studies in coastal areas where multiple stakeholders (dredging companies, aquaculture businesses, national monitoring institutes, etc.) have indicated a need for better information on water quality. The services were assessed with respect to their quality, fitness for purpose and added value for the user. As a last stage, CoastObs developed a business plan and provided training and consulting services for the target audiences dedicated to improving the capacity building of the users and to facilitate the up-take of the product after the duration of the project.

With the synergistic use of Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-2, CoastObs aimed at contributing to the sustainability of the Copernicus program and assisting in implementing and further fine-tuning of European Water Quality related directive.